Last week a handful of small business lenders announced the formation of the Responsible Business Lending Coalition. The announcement was made at an event held at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. The event’s Keynote speaker was former SBA Administrator Karen Mills.

During her presentation, Ms. Mills called on the CFPB to implement the Small Business Data Collection Rule of the Dodd-Frank Act. Ms. Mills’ request echoes the recent letter signed by 19 US senators urging the Bureau to issue the regulations contemplated by section 1071 of the Act. Ms. Mills argued that the data collection rule will be critical to understanding small business credit availability, especially for women and minority owned businesses.

Ms. Mills’ statements are the most recent in a series of requests to the CFPB to implement 1071. In addition to the 19 senators, multiple community activist groups along with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition have demanded that the Bureau take action.

The White House has remained silent on the issue so far. If the Bureau does decide to act, the new rule could be added to its list of action items as early as this winter.